I've been investigating....and thinking...... So far I am planning the whole of November in Kruger to check out and report on camp sites! I will spend 2 nights at each one, and take photos and try to find out any future plans for designated sites etc. Apart from the time at Tsendze and Balule where there will be no electricity I will try to post findings as I go.

Plan so far is Berg en Dal, Malelane, Pretoriuskop, back to BnD for Honorary Ranger AGM, Skukuza, Maroela, Satara, Balule, Letaba, Shingwedzi, Punda Maria, Tsendze, Lower Sabie, Croc Bridge. I will probably not book ahead - it is a quiet month - so can be a little more flexible if needed.

Tough assignment - but any excuse.......!

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It will be the first time I have stayed in a camp without electricity, so that will be interesting..... Fortunately all camps look fairly quiet so I will be able to take photos and investigate without upsetting folk.

Anything you particularly want me to check out post here and I will do my best.

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3 ablution blocks, all have kitchen areas behind them, and although there are disabled facilities I am not sure how easy it would be for a wheelchair user to actually use them! No bath in the men's side of the ablutions at the bottom of the camp site - will try to find out about the others next weekend when I go back.

Some photos of the bottom area of the camp siteThis seems to the most popular area and it fills up quickly. There is quite a bit of shade about, but if you have a caravan it can be tricky manoevring around the trees!

MALELANE

And Malelane camp - much smaller of course, and the camping area is more-or-less 'L' shaped, so I took 2 photos from the corner.Looking towards the gateand then looking towards the river(yes, that's my caravan at the bottom)There is not much shade - although it may be a bit better later in the season.

There is an outside cooking area which is dated, and a lovely inside area with a big gas cooker, and a communal freezer. The ablutions are dated - 2 toilets, a shower and a smallish bath. Disabled access would be difficult.

Any other questions, ask while I am here! Move to P'kop on Wednesday.

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I'll try to check power points etc when I go back to BnD at the weekend. I don't have a long tape measure and am hopeless at putting a figure to distances so I'll just do my best!

Meanwhile back at Malelane camp - Freda reminded me to post re vervet/baboon problems....... The vervets tried an assault yesterday afternoon and got blasted by my water bazooka for their troubles - they have not been back! I always keep food well hidden anyway. This morning I saw baboons about, but they ran even when I pointed a camera at them. The bins are not all baboon-proof which may add to the problem

There are 4 power boxes that I can see, one has 5 sockets, the others only 4 (one should have 5 but one socket is missing). They look like thisThere is quite a distance to some of the sites - but sites are not marked so I am judging it by assuming some folk set up right next to the fence. My extension is almost at full stretch and there is one 'site' between me and the box.

The fact that sites are not marked means I cannot say how big they are! It will all depend on space left by other campers when you get there..... and that will also affect ease or otherwise of getting onto a site with a caravan.

Photos of the 2 kitchen areas - first the inside one (the oven door is minus the outside 'skin')and the outside one

Just below my site there is an enclosed area with a small access point. A broken bench allows views of the river upstreamand downstream

Any other info needed????

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it was bliss being the only camper - the ablutions were clean, no bits of paper lying about/no water all over the sink area/soap available/all basins had plugs/etc/etc!!!! PRETORIUSKOP

Right - Pretoriuskop..... In general the camp sites are arranged in a tier type pattern. Powerpoints are much closer to sites - with a few exceptions near the fence. The ground is very uneven though - looks like trenches have been dug by campers in rainy periods and never flattened out again. Sites are not demarcated so again the problem of finding a suitable sized space for a large caravan. I am lucky - there are only about 5 other campers here so I have a nice space in a corner near the top of the camping area. The nicest area is at the bottom of the hill, but it looks as if it has been taken over by a commercial outfit on a permanent basis, as I have seen them there 3 times now. Baboons and vervets are a problem - not helped by lack of baboon-proof bins. Taps are not always near sites either.

Some photos of the camping areas

The ablutions at the top of the hill have ramps for disabled access but the facilities themselves do not look disabled friendly. In the female side there are 3 toilets and 3 showers - no bath.

Tomorrow I will investigate the rest of the facilities and post findings.

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Have you read the entrance permit? Do you KNOW the Conditions of Entry?

Update..... The sites ARE demarcated - it is just not obvious! There are white marks at the sides of the roads to show sites - and some are quite small. Theoretically campers with tents should use the smaller sites and leave the bigger ones for manoevring caravans.

There is another ablution block at the bottom of the hill - in the ladies side there are 3 showers and 2 baths, and 4 toilets.

The kitchen facilities are all on the side of the road nearer the huts and bungalows, so not too convenient for campers. (Unfortuantely this has caused problems with some campers deciding to use the sinks outside bungalows!)

The laundry is a nice big room and there is lots of drying space outside. Today one of the 2 washers was missing its selection knob, and only one of the 2 dryers was working. New R5 coins are needed for the washers, R2 for the dryers. Both take about 40 mins for a cycle. It is situated about halfway down the hill.

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Hot trip up to Skukuza, and hot setting up, so have not done a wander round to take photos yet.

Did notice when I was looking for my site that they have planted little trees between sites below the Selati restaurant - they will end up looking like the ones at Lower Sabie, and have little space for manoevring a caravan, but be OK for tents. Maybe they will decide to allocate specific sites for tents and others for caravans?????? I went to the area immediately on the right as you enter the camping sites - and am quite close to the fence. Fun will come when I try to get the caravan out on Wednesday morning......!

I checked the laundry near me - and will not be doing laundry at Skukuza! This one uses tokens which you get from reception for R10 according to a member of staff who was there when I went in. He also said the dyers are R10 - so a lot more expensive than the other camps. I asked if there was another laundry and he said there was one near Selati - and that uses old R5 coins - but still needs R10 in total. I will check this out, and ask at reception for clarification if necessary.

The ablutions in this area (ladies side anyway) have 3 toilets and 3 showers and 1 bath. There are ramps for disabled - but they end at a step!!!!

Photos etc tomorrow......

Smiling is contagious. Start an epidemic today!

Have you read the entrance permit? Do you KNOW the Conditions of Entry?

Re laundry.... I stopped at reception on my way back this morning - they said the new machines in the laundry near me use tokens like others outside the park, and hence the R10 charge as that is what they are set up for (?). They said the old machines in the second laundry still used old R5 coins and R2 for dryers.....

On my walk around now I went in to see what was there. It is attached to the lower ablution block. 2 washers, 2 dryers and a sign saying they BOTH needed TWO R5 coins to work! Looking at the slots they take new R5 coins! Confusion among the staff - but at least I checked the facts.

While some sites are 'demarcated' by trees or a row of bricks, they are not numbered or allocated.

First photos of the area immediately to the right as you come to the camping sites - this is the only area where you can get a fence site, but the ground is very uneven so difficult for anything other than a small tent really. I did get my caravan near the fence and on a level bit - but it took a lot of reversing and manoevring, and I do not look forward to getting it out, especially if anyone sets up near me!

Then the area to the left

The new powerpoint/bin areas look like this

Any more Skukuza questions?

Smiling is contagious. Start an epidemic today!

Have you read the entrance permit? Do you KNOW the Conditions of Entry?